The coastline is part of the Tasman National Park. It is home to a variety of wildlife including hundreds of seals, migrating whales and abundant sea birds in their thousands.

At any time of year you're likely to see the feeding frenzy of diving gannets, albatross and sea eagles wheeling on the wind, cliff-nesting cormorants and peregrine falcons, or a pod of playful dolphins surfing the bow wave of the boat.

The custom built yellow boats are ideal for viewing the spectacular coastline and wildlife of the Tasman Peninsula. Each vessel holds a maximum of 43 guests. Covered open-air tiered seating means an excellent all-round view and connection with the environment. The boats are safe, comfortable and gentle on the environment due to their fuel efficiency and low emission operation.

The 3 Hour Wilderness Cruise departs daily from Port Arthur. You can choose to drive yourself to Port Arthur,
or join our Full Day Tour from Hobart.

3 Hour Wilderness Cruise

Cruise Times

Morning Cruise (All Year)Check in by 9.15amCruise 10am to 1pm

Afternoon Cruise (15 Dec to 15 Apr)Check in by 1.15pmCruise 2pm to 5pm

Getting There

The 3 Hour Wilderness Cruise departs daily from our Tasman Island Cruises Booking Centre, located at 6961 Arthur Highway, Port Arthur. This is on the left side of the road, 100m before the Port Arthur Historic Site entrance.

Guests should allow 90 minutes to drive from Hobart to Port Arthur. It is important that guests check in on time to allow for pre-cruise briefing and bus transfer to the boat.

Things To Bring

Make sure you dress warmly for the cruise - warm jackets, scarves, beanies and gloves are recommended. And don't forget your camera!

Departure Point

The Full Day Tour departs from the Pennicott Wilderness Journeys Booking Centre. This is situated on Hobart's waterfront on Franklin Wharf, next to the Constitution Dock Lifting Bridge. Please check-in by 7.30am for an 7.45am departure.

Morning Tea & Lunch

Your day includes morning tea and lunch served at local restaurants on the Tasman Peninsula.

Things To Bring

Make sure you dress warmly for the cruise - warm jackets, scarves, beanies and gloves are recommended. And don't forget your camera!

Departure Point

The Full Day Tour departs from the Pennicott Wilderness Journeys Booking Centre. This is situated on Hobart's waterfront on Franklin Wharf, next to the Constitution Dock Lifting Bridge. Please check-in by 7.30am for an 7.45am departure.

Morning Tea & Lunch

Your day includes morning tea and lunch served at local restaurants on the Tasman Peninsula.

Things To Bring

Make sure you dress warmly for the cruise - warm jackets, scarves, beanies and gloves are recommended. And don't forget your camera!

Departure Point

The Full Day Tour departs from the Pennicott Wilderness Journeys Booking Centre. This is situated on Hobart's waterfront on Franklin Wharf, next to the Constitution Dock Lifting Bridge. Please check-in by 7.30am for an 7.45am departure.

Morning Tea & Lunch

Your day includes morning tea at a local cafe and lunch at the Port Arthur Historic Site.

Things To Bring

Make sure you dress warmly for the cruise - warm jackets, scarves, beanies and gloves are recommended. And don't forget your camera!

Reviews

Photos from Customers

FAQs

We recommended booking a few days ahead as our boats are often full and you may be disappointed if you chance to just turn up on the day. Payment is not due until the day of your cruise so it is just a matter of reserving seats. We are flexible with bookings so it is not a problem if you decide to change to another day or cancel, whatever the reason. No fee is charged for cancellations before the cruise date (so long as you contact us).

Our boats are designed to suit the coastline along which we travel and we will certainly make the most of any weather conditions. Our bookings are fully flexible so if you decide the weather on the day is not for you, you can give us a call and we can change your reservation to a different day. Our staff are upfront and honest about the weather and you are welcome to contact us a day or two ahead to get an honest indication of the forecasted weather. Of course, in Tasmania the weather can at times be a little surprising and so a forecast is exactly that, a forecast!

Being in open ocean, sea sickness can be an issue for a small number of people. We have had 13 years experience in dealing with this and have developed some very effective techniques to minimise the chance of sea sickness occurring.

We offer all-natural Travel Calm Ginger tablets to everyone when they step onboard. This product has proven extremely effective in preventing sea sickness in most people. Our staff can also suggest a number of things to further assist in minimising the chances of any sea sickness symptoms:

Selecting a seat in the back third of the boat (there is a lot less movement up the back of the boat)

Keeping your body temperature on the cooler side

If you wear glasses or sunglasses keep the lenses clean at all times

Avoid looking through cameras, binoculars etc

Stay away from acidic foods before the cruise such as Orange Juice and coffee

We do emphasise that communication is the key - if you have any concerns please let our staff know.

It is important that you are adequately dressed because it is cold on the boats, even in summer. Warm jackets gloves, scarves & beanies are a good idea. We provide wet weather jackets which go over the top of your clothing, but we encourage you to bring a few warm layers of your own.

Children of all ages are welcome aboard our boats and we take many children along on our cruises. As parents you are probably the best judge as to how your children will cope with being out on the water for 3 hours, but we have found that the majority of children enjoy the experience and love seeing the amazing wildlife, huge cliffs and caves along the Bruny coastline.

For the majority of days the cruise is quite suitable for pregnant women and we have had lots do our trip. Our boats are custom built for the coastline that we cruise along. They are able to cut through chop and therefore we can avoid the bumping of waves that some boats experience. It is a good idea to take into account the weather conditions on the day of the cruise as this will effect comfort levels for someone who is heavily pregnant. You can contact us a day or two ahead to get a weather report for the day of your cruise and we are happy to move or cancel bookings if it is not looking suitable for you.